It's hard to know which list is longer: The Seahawks' NFL-leading penalties, or the club's off-season to-do list. Now, league-wide developments have added emphasis to an issue that didn't seem to be much of a question before December's seasonal fade:

Richard Sherman sounded mostly upbeat about his health. But he has yet to undergo a procedure to remove bone spurs on his left heel after his right leg nears recovery from surgery to repair an Achilles tendon he ruptured Nov. 9 that ended his season.

"It feels great -- I was more ahead of schedule than they thought I was," he said Thursday night. But the bone spurs "will slow me down a little bit."

Barring a trade, the Seahawks will have the 18th pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft April 26. The second and third rounds follow April 27 and rounds four through seven are April 28. Seattle went 9-7 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time in six years, accounting for a relatively high first pick.

As Pete Carroll has been known to say, to small children, billionaires and stray dogs, defense wins.

That may be an odd observation after a Super Bowl that had more points and yards than a Chinese restaurant has rice. But good defense in the NFL isn't always about the fewest seasonal points or yards. It is also about a well-timed play or two that can disrupt the most relentless of offenses.

Offensive linemen Steve Hutchinson and Kevin Mawae, both of whom played substantial portions of their NFL careers with the Seahawks, came up short in voting for entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday. An eight-member class was announced during the NFL Honors program in Minneapolis, site of the Super Bowl on Sunday. Hutchinson was in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.

The question before the national baseball house regarding the mid-1990s Mariners -- the marketing slogan was, "You gotta love these guys," and everyone happily obliged -- was how could the Mariners afford to keep these guys?

The specific reference was to three guys who were among the best in baseball history -- Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson. The specific answer was: The Mariners couldn't.

In the first Seahawks-free NFL post-season in six years, Seattle fans may have a hard time feigning a rooting interest in the Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, other than the universal appeal of rich people taking icy falls upon their wallets and purses.

Of course, it is imperative that the New England Patriots are rooted against, simply because they are the Borg, and the rest of humanity fears being assimilated by the remorseless Kraft-Belichick-Brady alien race.

In light of the coaching changes made by the Seahawks, a review of Pete Carroll's remarks after the season foretold the imminent sweep of the scythe. While it's easy to say in hindsight that what may end up as a removal of nearly all assistant coaches was necessary, it remains fairly remarkable that Carroll fired Darrell Bevell, Tom Cable and Kris Richard, his top three assistants who played critical roles in getting the Seahawks to two Super Bowls.

The Seahawks are going back to the future with the return of Ken Norton Jr. as defensive coordinator, according to reports Monday from the NFL's website. But there is still no word on the fate of Kris Richard, the DC for the past three seasons.

Jeremy Lane's Twitter handle is StayinginmyLane, which Seahawks fans hope is true. But King County Court records show the Seahawks cornerback was arrested on a charge of suspicion of DUI early Sunday morning.

According to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Seahawks will hire Brian Schottenheimer as their new offensive coordinator, replacing Darrell Bevell, ousted last week after seven years on the job. The NFL Network confirmed the ESPN report, but the Seahawks have confirmed nothing about Schottenheimer, quarterbacks coach of the Indianapolis Colts the past two seasons.

The Seahawks will play the Oakland Raiders in London Oct. 14 (week 6) as part of their 2018 road schedule, the league announced Thursday. Seattle was one of six franchises that have yet to pull international duty, but will remedy that against their former AFC West rivals at a new stadium (seats 61,559, still under construction) that will serve as home for the Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur.

In what proved to be Darrell Bevell's final game as Seahawks offensive coordinator, here are the yardage numbers for each of the seven possessions of the first half of the Arizona game (not counting Tyler Lockett's return of a kickoff for a touchdown): 0, 9, -9, 26, 6, 9, -17. After deducting a 10-yard penalty, total yards: 24. Points: 0.

Pete Carroll continued the purge of his offensive staff Wednesday afternoon, firing offensive line coach and assistant head coach Tom Cable shortly after word came that he ousted Darrell Bevell as his offensive coordinator. As with Bevell, Cable had been with the franchise since 2011, Carroll's second season with the Seahawks.

The Seahawks fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, served in that position for the past seven years. Seattle ranked 15th in the NFL in total offense last season, but sputtered badly late in the campaign, gaining only a combined 285 yards against the Los Angeles Rams (149) and Dallas Cowboys (136).

Delete that application to be Seahawks general manager -- John Schneider is staying in town.

The Green Bay Packers Sunday hired an in-house candidate, Brian Gutekunst, to succeed Ted Thompson as general manager, ending speculation that the vacancy would draw Wisconsin native and former Packers employee Schneider from Seattle.

A year after engaging in talks to trade premier CB Richard Sherman, a franchise cornerstone, Seahawks general manager John Schneider, a cornerstone himself, could get traded.

The NFL Network reported Saturday that the Seahawks denied the Green Bay Packers permission to interview Schneider for their GM vacancy with his hometown team. That means that if the Packers really want him, they would have to offer the Seahawks compensation, probably in the form of draft choices, but it could include a player.

LB Bobby Wagner made the Associated Press All-Pro first team for the third time in his career. A second-round pick by Seattle in the 2012 NFL draft out of Utah State, Wagner was also an AP first-team All-Pro following the 2014 and 2016 seasons. Announced Thursday, he was the only Seahawks player to receive first-team recognition this season.

The great thing about spectator sports is that exactly everyone who enjoys them knows better than the people hired to do sports. At the moment around Seattle, all who bought a ticket, a T-shirt or a cable-TV subscription have a plan for Seahawks renewal that's better than what coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider are concocting. Even people who haven't bought a single Seahawks doo-dad know better than those two.

Thank you! Art Thiel and Steve Rudman

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